With indoor-smoking bans already common across most of the U.S., a growing number of communities are turning their attention to smoking in public outdoor spaces.

USA Today reported July 12 that at least 1,124 cities and counties have passed laws banning smoking in locations like beaches, parks, cafes, zoos, concert venues and stadiums, up from 30 in 1999. Smoking is banned at 47 public beaches and 222 parks, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.

"What we're seeing is the trend is going from the inside out," said executive director Cynthia Hallett.

Some bans are motivated by heath concerns, others by litter or fire worries.

Audrey Silk, founder of Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, disputed a recent study that concluded that sitting close to a smoker in an outdoor cafe could expose a nonsmoker to dangerous levels of secondhand smoke. Silk said the trend toward outdoor smoking bans is driven by "public hate of anything smoking or smoker-related." Philip Morris also opposes outdoor-smoking bans, although the cigarette company makes an exception for children's areas.